Call Me, Maybe
by Yu Nick A
Summary: Sakura is the local pet shop owner's daughter, innocent and ordinary. One thing leads to another when an unexpectedly rude customer shows up...and asks her out! But things won't be easy for him, since Sakura's lazy best friend extraordinaire won't hand her over so easily.
1. Chapter 1

A sweet tinkling of twin bells could be heard, signaling the opening of the shop's front door.

It was a relatively lazy afternoon, and the shop was surprisingly absent of the common animal noises that was often heard.

Just perfect for a cat nap. Apparently, Sakura thought so too.

Light footsteps thudded against the wooden floors and stopped in front of the slumbering girl, growing more and more impatient by the second. If the repetitive foot tapping was any indication.

The visitor heaved a sigh of displeasure and decided to clear his throat loudly.

"Annoying" he muttered, glancing at his watch.

Blissfully unaware, Sakura made no indication that she was going to wake up any time soon.

So, he settled for glaring a hole at the back of the rosette's head.

_Like that would work, idiot._

Grunting, he looked around for anyone else who could assist him. And… there were none, sad to say.

His onyx-eyed gaze swept to the rosette's form once again, and decided to wake her up before he could grow a beard.

"Oi, wake up." He said none too patiently, grabbing her neon jacket's sleeve in the process.

Said girl blearily opened her eyes. They turned out to be a brilliant shade of emerald, which weirdly complimented her candy-colored hair.

The man immediately retracted his hand once she woke up.

"Darn. That was the best nap I had in years." Sakura said, yawning and stretching her arms at the same time. Not realizing she practically looked like a gorilla right then and there.

The man remained unmoving from where he stood and glared at her again, irritation pouring from his being.

Realizing she wasn't alone, Sakura was utterly mortified by her behavior.

She quickly stood up and bowed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I'd dozed off…" she said, looking at him.

Now that she could see the man, she couldn't help but realize that he was actually extremely handsome. His eyes were deep-set onyx orbs that were steely and cold; he was also blessed with a straight patrician nose and naturally pink, pouty lips. But his skin was an almost unhealthy pale though, compared to her rosy complexion.

Sakura quickly stopped her open admiration of him when his unpleasant expression only seemed to deepen further.

"Uh… How may I help you?" she smiled apologetically.

He ran a hand through his onyx locks and looked around.

"Where's Akihiko-san." He inquired, complete with swoon-worthy voice. It was actually more of a statement than an inquiry.

_This guy is seriously inhuman_, thought Sakura.

She patted her hair for a bit, trying to tame her sleep-ruined locks. Sakura thought he undoubtedly made her look like a lowly servant girl in contrast.

"You must be looking for my father. He's currently on vacation with my mum, so you probably won't be able to see him for another couple of days." replied Sakura.

He gave a sigh of frustration, and pivoted towards the door.

Sakura sharpened her eyes at his rudeness, but decided to be the bigger person.

"Wait!" she jogged towards him, narrowly missing an unpacked box of fish pellets.

His abrupt pause caused Sakura to crash into his back, but thankfully causing no damage.

The man's sour mood quickly worsened.

The place was a bit crammed, since a delivery was made earlier in the morning. Medium-sized boxes were stacked all over the place, yet to be unpacked.

In one corner, there was a cage for multiple-colored parakeets. An array of aquariums filled with different kinds of fish lined the shelves on the wall, while another corner housed guinea pigs. Turtles, puppies, and kittens were present too. It was a pretty cozy pet shop, clean and well ventilated.

"I'm sorry!" bowed Sakura, face flushed.

"What?" he asked pitilessly.

"I'm Sakura, Akihiko-san's daughter. I'm in charge of the place until my dad gets back. So…if you need anything, you can ask me." Sakura said, meeting his eyes.

He glanced at his watch for the second time that day and gave a sigh, seemingly clipped for time.

"Hn. I'm Sasuke." He said.

_Sasuke…even his name is perfect_, thought Sakura moodily.

Sasuke raised an elegant brow in amusement.

"Did I say that out loud?" asked Sakura, face-palming.

"Never mind, what were you looking for, Sasuke?" she questioned in curiosity, successfully changing the potentially embarrassing topic.

The way she tilted her head was undeniably cute. Sasuke coughed at the thought.

Now that he looked at her, she didn't seem so bad herself. Her features were petite and spritely and her skin was a healthy rosy complexion. She had big, doe-like eyes and a cute button nose, while her lips were pouty and full. But what was most striking about her was her hair, it was _pink_. He'd never seen anyone with pink hair before.

"Interesting." said Sasuke absently.

"Excuse me?" asked Sakura, thoroughly confused.

Sasuke decided not to reply, settling for a smirk instead. He fished out a list from his tan shorts and handed it to Sakura, who took the piece of paper in interest.

_Dog shampoo_

_20 lbs. of dog food_

_Treats_

_Puppy pee pee pads_

_Anti-flea powder_

Sakura skimmed the list, giggling lightly once she read over _puppy pee pee pads_.

The handwriting was impeccably neat, even the cursive letters flowed with the words written. It was so neat; it was almost unbelievable that a man wrote it. Heck, it would probably take her a day to copy that list.

Sasuke seemed slightly peeved at her reaction.

"It's for my mom's dog." He said.

She glanced at him quickly and nodded once again, grinning.

"Just give me a minute and I'll get you all of these." She said, leaving him be.

When Sakura returned, she handed him a large plastic bag. Their fingers lightly grazed each other's but neither seemed to mind the contact.

"That'll be 45.50" said Sakura.

"Aa"

"By the way," Sasuke said, receiving the change at the same time. Sakura looked at him expectantly and waited for him to continue.

"The dog's due for a vaccination. Akihiko-san usually administers it, but…" he continued, leaving it at that.

"I can administer the shots, if that's okay with you." offered Sakura, tucking her hands in her jacket.

Sasuke looked at her thoughtfully and gave a nod.

"My mom doesn't really like bringing Sookie outside, is it possible for you to come over?" he asked, absolutely looking nonchalant about asking Sakura to come over. At his _house_.

_He's practically asking you out, Sakura!_

Sakura averted his gaze and pondered for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. If she did decide to come over at his house, she would probably have to ask someone to watch over the pet shop. She would also have to pay said substitute. Darn.

But if she did decide to go, it would mean good business for the shop. Besides, her dad probably wouldn't want to lose such a valued customer, considering they did know each other on a first name basis.

Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact that Sasuke was essentially a god in human form. Or that he had drool-worthy handwriting and that he could have honestly walked out from a magazine to boot.

Yeah, it had nothing to do with that.

"I bet Sookie's really cute. It's an okay then." said Sakura, hoping she didn't just make a big, possibly humiliating experience from what she decided to do.

Sasuke seemed pleased with her answer.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, at noon." he said, coughing lightly; a faint color dusting his cheeks.

It was gone as soon as it came.

Sakura looked completely floored by his offer.

"There's really no need, if you can just give me the address I could-"she started waving her hands rapidly in decline, determined to say no.

"Be ready by noon." A sense of finality laced his tone.

"But I really think there's no need to-"

Judging by his strong scrutiny, there was obviously no room for argument.

Sakura could only hang her head in defeat.

"Okay."

Strange, Sasuke was smirking more times than he ever did in his entire life today.

"Maybe you aren't so annoying after all." He remarked, turning to leave.

A look of horror flitted across Sakura's face, completely baffled by his comment. As far as she was concerned, she didn't do anything to offend him.

_Or did I?_

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" she shouted after him. But he was gone before she knew it.

"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow." mumbled Sakura to herself, note sarcasm.

* * *

**It's been a way too long since I last wrote a story...**

**Hope you liked it guys R&R.**

**There wasn't really much romance, but you probably didn't need to squint to find some traces in there.**

**I do not own anything except the story. ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, Thanks for the reviews! I decided to make this a two, or possibly three shot (depends) because I felt that giving them a proper ending would probably be for the best. Besides, I'm a total sucker for romance anyway. Lol.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. Once again, thank you. **

_Italics _– stand for thoughts. Sometimes I may or may not indicate whose thoughts they are, but they should be pretty obvious.

**_00_**

"Troublesome."

After almost an hour of begging and threatening, Sakura's efforts were still fruitless. The word favor just didn't seem to exist in Shikamaru's vocabulary; he was always too lazy to care.

As usual, Shikamaru was sprawled out on the grass on a particularly late, cloudy afternoon. The sky was quicky blurring into a barrage of passionate colors, but all he ever did was lie on his back and stare at the clouds as if they were the most fascinating things in the universe.

The afternoons in Konoha were beautiful.

Sakura would have joined him, but she had other things to worry about; a problem involving Sasuke Uchiha to be specific.

"I just need you to watch the shop for half a day. I'll even pay you!" said Sakura, clasping her hands together in an almost prayer.

She was still wearing the same attire from earlier that day, consisting of a neon green jacket and yellow shorts.

After her meeting with Sasuke, she immediately sought Shikamaru out. He was the only one she could trust with the shop.

"Why don't you just ask Ino to watch the shop for you? Or something…" he replied, yawning and tucking his arms at the back of his head in the process.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. She tugged at her layered, pink locks and looked him in the eyes once again.

"She's out of town visiting her parents. And before you say anything else, I can't ask anyone else because they're all busy. Like me!" she said, pointing to herself.

"But you," she pointed to Shikamaru.

"are not busy! So please…"

Shikamaru only closed his eyes in response.

Sakura was silent for a moment. After a while, she grabbed his shoulder and rested it there.

"Please Shikamaru. You're the only one I can trust." she said sincerely.

When Shikamaru opened his eyes, Sakura refused to meet his gaze. He knew that she was upset though.

_Troublesome_, he thought.

He was a sucker for damsels in distress. After all, they were the most troublesome of all.

After a long sigh on Shikamaru's part, he finally agreed.

"You don't need to pay me" he added.

Sakura was quick to recover. She thanked him profusely for his help, simultaneously hugging him.

"Thanks Shikamaru! You're the greatest friend ever!" she said.

They chatted for a little bit more about mundane things, when Sakura announced she was going to leave. It was getting late.

"If only you knew…" sighed Shikamaru wistfully as he watched her retreating back.

Getting friend-zoned was surprisingly more painful than he'd expected.

_Forever alone level: Shikamaru._

**_00_**

At noon the following day, Shikamaru arrived for his afternoon shift at the pet shop.

Minutes after arriving, he greeted Sakura briefly and made a beeline for the front desk; immediately propping his arms on his head and sleeping soundly.

_Typical Shikamaru, _thought Sakura, rolling her eyes.

"Hello to you too." She called out to him, brushing her hair into place.

Her hair was set in a ponytail and she was conveniently dressed in an orange spaghetti strap top and knee length tan capris, settling for a pair of white slippers. Her white sling bag contained all of the things needed for Sookie's vaccination, as well as some dog treats she planned to offer the dog.

It was just a matter of time before Sasuke arrived, and she was already getting antsy about the whole ordeal.

_Breathe Sakura. Just give the dog the vaccine, chat a little and leave soon after._

She could only hope that things would go as easy as that.

After giving Sookie the vaccination, she would probably never see Sasuke again anyway. Her dad would most likely be back from vacation, and she would also be busy with school and everything.

She didn't know why, but the thought of never seeing Sasuke again was a bit unsettling.

She settled herself on a chair and observed one of the guinea pigs eating a big carrot, trying to avoid his other hungry friends who wanted to steal the vegetable.

"Cute." She smiled, handing out more grass for the animals.

The familiar tinkling of twin bells was once again heard, rousing Shikamaru from his sleep. Sakura's back was ramrod straight, her expression dreadful.

Both of them turned to look at the front door. And lo and behold, in came Sasuke in all his god-like glory.

Sasuke slowly sauntered into the room and stopped in front of Sakura, nodding in greeting. His gaze was set on her as he subtly took in her attire and smirked with approval.

Sakura was blushing lightly, her eyes traveling towards anywhere but him.

He would've continued doing so, but a cough that came from neither him nor Sakura disturbed his inner musings.

He searched for the third party and found a young man, more or less his age, sitting behind a desk staring at him with obvious boredom and distaste.

"Yo." he drawled out.

Sasuke could tell that he was a particularly lazy fellow.

The young man's features were sharp and angular, and his eyes were unusually wise and calculating.

Both men regarded each other with assessing looks, tension slowly building. It was a battle between two alpha males; and neither was backing down nor showing fear. Realizing that it was probably going to get ugly soon, Sakura stood in Sasuke's line of vision and smiled in apology.

"Ah, hello to you too, Sasuke." she greeted.

"That over there," she pointed at Shikamaru. "is Shikamaru Nara, a friend of mine. He'll be watching the shop while I'm gone." Sakura explained, looking at Shikamaru; prompting him to be civil.

"Hn." Was all that Sasuke said, obviously pleased that Shikamaru was just a _friend_.

Shikamaru was none too happy, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Sasuke, looking once again at Sakura.

She nodded a yes.

"I'll probably be only an hour or two at most Shikamaru, be back soon. Bye!" Sakura said, waving him goodbye while flashing a smile.

"Bye Babe." Shikamaru replied, smirking.

Sakura brushed it off and didn't seem to mind, continuing merrily on her way outside. But Sasuke wasn't particularly happy with their exchange, if his sour expression was any indication.

Sasuke grabbed a hold of Sakura's free hand, making sure the act was visible to a glaring Shikamaru.

"I'll lead you to the car." Sasuke said.

Sakura was looking between Sasuke, herself, and their entwined hands, almost scandalized. She kept trying to free her hand from his grasp, but each time she pried, he only held on tighter.

_What on earth is wrong with this guy?_

By the time they made it outside, Sakura's face was almost as pink as her hair.

Their hands were still clasped together and Sakura was getting fainter by the second, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind anything at all! He just held her hand as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world.

"Sasuke? C-can you let go? Uhh…It's getting kind of uncomfortable." said Sakura, trying once again.

Sasuke stared at her with a look of complete innocence and did the most unimaginable thing, he smiled. Albeit it was a tiny, very possible to miss, now you see me, now you don't kind of smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Stop squirming." He said, staring ahead.

And that was enough to shut Sakura up for the time being.

**_00_**

For a moment, Sakura was almost certain that she was being pranked. She kept expecting Sasuke to spill the beans and say that they were actually in a reality TV show that might as well have been called "Yes, You're Dreaming!" during their ride to his house, but all he did was look straight ahead and drive. This would have been fine and dandy if it wasn't for the fact that she felt super uncomfortable in his car.

She didn't know what kind of car it was that he was driving, but even a blind person would know that his car must have cost quite a huge penny.

And that was the problem; everything was just too perfect about him. Perfect looks, perfect car, what was next? He might as well have a castle for a house.

"You have a nice car." She remarked, internally wary of him.

"Thanks, it was a gift from my parents." he replied, sparing her a glance.

Sakura wasn't surprised.

_Perfect parents to go with a perfect son. _She thought, staring out of the window.

They just had to be so different.

Sasuke abruptly stopped the car.

Sakura was immensely thankful for seatbelts.

She was surprised when he gave her a look of pure, raw anger. His stare was unwavering, thus making it impossible to deviate from his line of sight.

"Did I say that out loud? Again?" asked Sakura, levels of discomfort reaching new heights.

"I'm sorr-"she started.

"You don't know anything about me." He said. Tone low, but icy.

Neither spoke. Sasuke took a few calming breaths before starting the car again.

_Okay, a topic about his parents? LANDMINE, _thought Sakura, scared.

The silence was heavy and awkward, but Sakura was never one to leave conversations hanging like that. Especially when she knew she was in the wrong.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry." they both said at the same time.

Sakura grabbed the opportunity to speak first.

She grazed his hand that was resting on the lever, hoping to get her feelings across.

He looked shocked.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight. And you're right, I don't know anything about you…and it wasn't proper of me to assume things without even knowing anything, and I'm really sorry! What's gotten into me? I mean I uh, I'm really s-"she was rambling, and Sasuke didn't know whether to laugh at her or take her seriously.

Flail, tug at hair, face palm, flail some more. She was totally clueless to the fact that her expressions were almost comical.

"Sakura," he started.

"I'm sorry, I was out of line too." he continued, grasping her hand again for the second time that day.

Sakura was dumbfounded. Sasuke just _apologized_ to her.

"You're too cute for your own good." He said in an almost whisper, red staining his usually pale skin.

He kept a hand on the steering wheel, but he didn't remove his hand from hers.

Sakura's heart was actually thudding against her ribcage so hard, that she was certain even Sasuke could hear it. But she was definitely not blushing…that's putting it lightly. If she didn't breathe properly soon, she could be a probable case for blue skin disorder.

Why did she just suddenly feel like she was always left speechless when she was around him?

Was this really the same rude, sour faced customer that unabashedly called her annoying? It didn't seem so. She was really starting to believe that this was really just an elaborate prank set by one of her friends, or enemies, to spite her. First, he's perfect, and now he's all sweet and princely? Way unreal.

"Wait; did I just imagine you saying that?" Sakura asked, disbelieving that Sasuke was capable of saying _that_.

"Did you just accidently say that out loud again?" he rebutted, smirking.

"Touché." Sakura decided she liked this side of Sasuke better.

**_00_**

Sasuke's house wasn't a castle, like Sakura predicted. But it wasn't just a house either, it was a freaking mansion; a huge one at that.

Sakura didn't have much time to ogle though, since she was immediately assaulted the moment she stepped into the spacious manor.

**_00_**

**I suck at writing romance.**

**I was like UGHH the whole time I was reading, lol. I just couldn't resist the forever alone part though. XD I don't like this chapter so much, but what the hay? ;)**

**If you've noticed that things are progressing pretty fast between Sasuke and Sakura, that's probably because the next chapter will be the end. It already took me **_**forever **_**to post this chapter, I can't imagine many more. **

**Anyway, thank you for all your support!**


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